New Boss at Birchfields (16 page)

She had great difficulty awakening Sandra, but eventually she sat up looking very dazed.
‘
Oh, I knew you
’
d find me,
’
she said at last, and burst into tears and sobbed on Briony
’
s shoulder.

Briony helped her to her feet and seated her upon the boulder. She put her jacket about the child
’
s shoulders. She felt in the pocket and took out the flask.
‘
Here, try to take a little of this,
’
she urged as she unscrewed the cap and poured out some hot coffee. But Sandra
’
s hands were icy and her teeth were chattering. Briony had to help her to steady the plastic cup and hold it up to her lips. Sandra was able to take a few sips and then seemed a little better.

‘
What happened to you? We
’
ve all been so worried,
’
Briony asked.

‘
I don
’
t know what happened,
’
Sandra replied in a dazed fashion.
‘
Not really. I was cycling along the road, and I looked over my shoulder for an instant. Next moment the cycle struck a big stone and I was thrown over the handlebars and landed right on my head. The next thing I remember I was walking through the moors carrying the bicycle, but no matter how hard I tried I could get no nearer to the school.
’

‘
Carrying your bicycle!
’
exclaimed Briony.
‘
But why did you do that? It could have been collected later.
’

‘
I didn
’
t think of that. I was afraid to lose it,
’
Sandra explained.
‘
Because it
’
s very small, but it was very expensive and Daddy would be furious if I lost it.
’

‘
I see,
’
said Briony.

‘
I walked and walked and then I felt very tired and I thought I
’
d lie down for just a little while. But I must have slept for a long time, because it
’
s dark now.
’
And Sandra burst into tears once more.

Briony soothed her as well as she could, but as she spoke her mind was on the problem of getting her back to the school. In the few minutes since she had found Sandra, the searchers had moved on quite a distance. She could see their lights flashing across the ground, but when she called they could not hear her.

‘
I think the best thing we could do is to try to get back to the school ourselves,
’
she said at last.
‘
Lean on me, and we
’
ll go along very slowly.
’

But she quickly found out that this plan wasn
’
t going to work. Sandra seemed incapable of taking any steady course. She spun around and staggered, and before they had taken more than a few steps had fallen to the ground.

As Briony helped her to her feet, she said anxiously,
‘
I
’
m afraid you
’
re badly concussed. The best thing would be for you to stay here. Sit on this boulder. Very soon, when the searchers are coming back on their way towards the school, they
’
ll see you. But they may be a little while, so I
’
d better try to get back to the school and get help for you right away.
’
As she spoke she took off her cap of Aran wool and placed it on the child
’
s head, knowing that the pale colour would be clearly visible to the searchers.
‘
You
’
ll stay here and not move, won
’
t you? And you won
’
t fall asleep whatever you do,
’
she urged,
as she flashed on her torch. The beam was rather weaker, but she hoped it would enable her to get back to the school.

‘
I won
’
t budge,
’
Sandra promised.
‘
But please, do you think you could leave the torch with me? The moon has come out again, and you
’
ll be able to see your way. And if I had some light I wouldn
’
t feel so frightened. And I can always flash it on if I hear them coming.
’

Briony hesitated, wondering if she would be able to manage without it, then seeing how distressed the child was she reluctantly agreed.

‘
You
’
ll be as quick as you can, won
’
t you, because I feel terrible,
’
quavered Sandra.

The school could be seen for miles around, especially on this evening when every window was illuminated. She could easily find her way, Briony told herself. With a reassuring wave of the hand she set off as quickly as she could.

But very soon clouds rolled up again and she found herself feeling her way in the darkness, edging forward
carefully
, and sometimes even kneeling down to feel the path with her hands.

Matters were not too bad as long as the school was in sight, but after a while she descended into a shallow hollow from which it was no longer visible. Quickly she found she was wandering around in circles, making no progress, and she decided that she had better climb to a higher point from which she could see the landmark of the school once more. It would be well worth while making a detour for the sake of having it in sight.

Off to the east was a point of higher ground, and as the moon came out again she ran forward, hoping to get to the top of the rise by its light. Here the ground was gravelly. Her foot slipped on the uneven moving surface and she found herself hurled forward and downwards. She suffered scratches, but came to no real harm, and to her surprise she found herself on a fairly even track which was partially overgrown with grasses and weeds but seemed to be leading towards the school. Here, walking was much easier than on the higher ground, and as she went forward she found she was making far more progress than she had previously done.

The track began to cut into the ground and to widen, and after a while she could feel the firmness of a good surface beneath the rubber soles of her boots. She seemed to be on a paved road which was curving in the
direction of the school and she felt certain that she was doing the right thing in following it. This was perhaps a way that had led towards the back of Latireston House in the days when horses and carts were in use and which was now no longer necessary when everything was delivered by van or car.

But as the level of the road sank ever more deeply she found that it was becoming difficult to see her way and that she had to go forward cautiously.

Suddenly the moon shone out very brightly and Briony stood still in alarm. She discovered she was standing on a great block of stone and that a short distance ahead was a sharp fall—not very deep but enough to have caused a nasty accident and broken bones should she have gone any further.

And now she knew where she was! The track had led her into the disused quarry. She found herself in the middle of a shallow bowl with stone rising in ledges on all sides. And as she turned to look back she saw that the narrow road had passed close to the edge of a wide pool which glimmered a sinister silver-grey in the moonlight.

She would have to retrace her steps. But even as she realised this, the moon became clouded and she found herself standing in darkness. She would wait until she had light again before setting out on the return journey.

Unfortunately as the night progressed the patches of moonlight became less frequent, and eventually she had to admit to herself that the moon had set. There was nothing for it but to remain in the spot in which she found herself until the first light of morning.

She settled herself on a ledge of stone to wait. But as she ceased to be active she quickly discovered how keenly cold the night had become. She was wearing only slacks and a sweater, and as time passed she grew more and more chilled. In desperation she shouted as loudly as she could, but soon realised that the enclosed
bowl like
shape of the shallow quarry was holding her voice and that it was not reaching up to the moor where the searchers were probably returning now to the school.

The main thing was not to panic, she told herself firmly. By this time they would have found Sandra, and Blane would be occupied in getting her back to the school. It would be some time before it was discovered that she, in her turn, was missing.

What a misfortune this was! Briony felt she would never be able to live down the frustrations and humiliations of this night. She had made one mistake after another. All she hoped now was that it would not be Blane who would find her. She shrank from meeting the regard of those vivid blue eyes. Far better that it should be Senga, no matter how cutting her remarks might be!

She leaned back against the wall of stone and closed her eyes, and in spite of the cruel cold which seemed to bite into her very bones, through sheer exhaustion she fell into a light doze.

Suddenly she was awake, aware that she had heard some strange sound.

She listened intently. Yes, there it was again—a curious tapping noise. As she stirred, it ceased immediately, but soon afterwards she heard it again. And as she watched, her eyes glued on the spot from which the sound seemed to come, she saw faintly perceptible in the darkness, the shape of antlers. So it was a deer she had heard! The tapping noise was the sound of its sharp hooves on the stony surface of the quarry. It would be sure to come nearer, she reflected, because she had often read of how inquisitive deer are. They will investigate anything that seems strange to them.

Then another thought struck her. Autumn is the only time of the year when a deer will attack a human being. Better perhaps not to let it come too close, lest, startled, it might strike at her with those great branching antlers.

She reached out her hand, and her fingers fell upon some pebbles. She threw these in the direction of the animal and at the same time gave a loud shout, and to her relief she heard it bound away.

After that she shouted again and again, but eventually gave up and leaned back against the wall of rock once more. All her senses seemed numbed with cold and eventually she slept once more.

Next time she opened her eyes she found herself looking straight into Blane
’
s face.

‘
So this is where you
’
ve been while I was searching for you!
’
was his remark. He lifted her down from her perch on the ledge of rock and set her on one of the great slabs of stone of which the quarry was composed. Then, taking off his jacket, he wrapped it around her.
‘
My turn now,
’
he remarked with a smile.

‘
What—what
’
s that?
’
she asked, confused.

‘
I don
’
t know if you remember,
’
he remarked,
‘
but you gave Sandra your jacket—and your cap too, come to think of it. That
’
s how we found her. That pale
-
coloured cap of yours helped us to spot her.
’

She tried to smile, but her face was stiff and to her mortification tears of exhaustion rolled down her cheeks.

‘
And now I
’
m going to leave you here for a while,
’
he told her.
‘
The girls have gone back to the school
—
they
’
re quite done in after their night
’
s exertions. Senga and the other teachers are pretty exhausted too. I sent Johnny and Andy back as soon as Sandra was discovered—I had no idea at that time that you were missing. I
’
ll bring the car nearer, and then I
’
ll be able to get you safely home, without having to disturb any of the others.
’

‘
Go ahead,
’
she said quickly.
‘
I
’
m perfectly all right, now that I know you
’
ve found me.
’

But once his footsteps had receded, every minute seemed an hour until his return.

He carried her to the car and laid her along the back seat. Immediately, without a word, he took his place at the wheel and they set off.

After a while Briony said in a small voice,
‘
I seem to have given you a lot of trouble.
’

She sensed rather than saw his face break into a grim smile.
‘
You
’
re much too valuable an asset to the Lennox Riding School to be left to perish in a quarry.
’

This reply was so unexpected that at once Briony
’
s fighting spirit reasserted itself.
‘
Thanks,
’
she said huffily.
‘
I
’
m glad to know I
’
m of some value to you.
’

He laughed outright.
‘
Were you really expecting a courtly compliment? Surely, Briony, you know me better than that, by this time!
’

‘
All the same,
’
she answered snappishly,
‘
it wouldn
’
t have done the Lennox Riding School much good if one of its wealthier pupils were lost. And if it hadn
’
t been for me, she mightn
’
t have been found at all.
’

He considered this for a moment, then shook his head.
‘
You
’
re wrong. She would have been found all right, but not as quickly.
’

‘
I see.
’
She felt her ire rise at this nonchalant attitude.
‘
In other words I was wasting my time. I might as well have stayed at home and done nothing.
’
She turned her head around and looked out at the greyness beyond the window.

‘
Now you
’
re talking nonsense!
’
he said, a slight irritation edging his voice.
‘
You did very well. There
’
s no need to make a song and dance about it. We don
’
t go in for heroics in this part of the country, you know. The people have a hard life and have learned to contend with it, without setting themselves up as heroes or heroines.
’

Briony
’
s temper came to boiling-point, and she began to twist at the handle of the door.
‘
Let me out! Let me out!
’
Her voice was muffled with anger.
‘
I
’
ll walk the rest of the way.
’